1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an edge regulating device that regulates edges of printing media by an edge guide. The invention also relates to a printing medium cassette provided with the edge regulating device and a printing apparatus.
2. Related Art
In a printing apparatus represented by facsimile machines or printers, an edge guide that regulates edges of printing papers is provided on a paper cassette for storing the printing papers. The edge guide is provided so as to be displaceable (slidable) in the widthwise direction or the lengthwise direction of the printing papers, and is configured to be held at a desired position using notch structure as disclosed in JP-A-2006-8351.
A number of sawteeth which constitute the notches disclosed in JP-A-2006-8351 are arranged with a small pitch along the direction of displacement of the edge guide so as to accommodate the edge of papers of any given size. The directions of bevels of the sawteeth which constitute the notches are set so that projections on the side of the edge guide which enter the notches do not move easily in the direction away from the paper edge (do not climb over the sawteeth), and so as to move easily in the direction toward the paper edge (so as to be capable of climbing over the sawteeth).
Accordingly, when moving the edge guide toward the paper edges, it is moved easily without performing an operation to release the projections from a number of the notches arranged along the direction of displacement of the edge guide, and after the edge guide is positioned at a position to regulate the paper edges once, the edge guide does not move easily away from the paper edges by a force applied from the papers.
However, in the paper cassette, for example, there is a case in which a configuration to form an inner wall located at a position opposing a distal end of a preset paper bundle into a beveled shape to preliminarily separate the papers using this beveled shape is employed.
In such a case, when the edge guide is abutted forcefully against the paper edges (the edges on the rear end side of the papers in this case), the distal ends of the preset papers might slide upward on the beveled shape, whereby the setting state of the papers might get out of order. Consequently, the beveled shape cannot demonstrate its separating function sufficiently when feeding the papers, so that duplicated feeding might occur.
In other words, since the inner wall opposing the distal ends of the papers is formed into the beveled shape, the feeling of resistance that a user receives from the papers when bringing the edge guide into abutment with the rear ends of the papers is small, so that the edge guide has a property to be moved easily to a position beyond an adequate position.